Metal button and its method of manufacture



May 13, 1958 J. sARTx 2,834,235

METAL lBUTTON AND ITS METHOD-'0F MANUFAQTURE Filed July 1s, 1955 .I l.la". I

IN VE R. JOSEPH 6,49

METAL BU'I'TGN AND ITS METHOD OF MANUFACTURE Joseph Sarti, New York, N.Y.

Application July 13, 1955, Serial No. 521,934

'7 Claims. (Cl. 79-3) The present invention relates to the manufactureof buttons, and in particular to an improved one-piece buttonconstruction and to the method of forming such improved button.

Metal buttons are known which are xed to an article of wearing apparelor the like by a hollow rivet or securement stud which is received wthina bore or aperture formed in the back side of the button. for these andnumerous other applications have been fabricated by the assembly ofseveral pieces or button parts. In a typical construction, one piece isformed in the shape of the body or the head of the button and isprovided with a circular opening on the back side thereof which receivesan insert made of springy material. The insert in initially formed withan indentation centrally thereof havng a small bore or opening which issubstantially complementary to the mounting rivet or stud. The bore oropening is surrounded by springy gripping jaws which are formed by theprovision of radial slits in the insert. Conventionally, the insert issecured within the circular opening of the button body or head bycurling over the rim portions of the body bounding the opening to clinchthe insert within the opening thereby completing the button assembly.

Quite obviously this construction involves the separate fabrication ofthe body and the insert, the assembly of the insert within the body, andnally the clinching or curling operation. These several steps make thecost of the button rather high, especially when it is recalled that thebuttons are small in size and rather difficult to handle.

Broadly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improvedbutton construction and method of manufacture obviating one or more ofthe aforesaid difculties. Specifically, it is within the contemplationof the present invention to provide a button which is fabricatedentirely from a single blank by several successive metal working andforming operations. Advantageous- 1y, the one-piece button constructioneliminates the necessity of handling several parts and contributesmaterially to decreased cost and simplicity in manufacture.

In an illustrative form of the invention, there is provided a one-piecemetallic button including a dome-shaped body merging into a base. Thebase is formed with radial slits and is bowed inwardly to definegripping jaws which terminate in ends bounding a bore substantiallycentrally of the body. The bore is adapted to receive an attachmentrivet, shank or stud, for mounting the button on an article, such as ona pair of shoes or on wearing apparel. The inwardly bowed arrangement ofthe gripping jaws serve, in a sense, as a one-way clutch, precluding thewithdrawal of the attachment or support-rivet or shank after theassembly is completed.

In accordance with method aspects of the present invention, amultiple-sided blank is initially formed in which the sides meet bypairs at corners. In a rst forming operation, the blank is cupped toprovide a substantially semi-spherical body having integral triangularprojections each defined by converging half sections Metal buttons2,834,235 Patented May 13, 1958 of a pair of sides meeting at a corner.In further forming operations, the triangular projections are turnedinwardly, until the corners of the blank define an aperturesubstantially centrally of the body, and simultaneously the projections,which serve as the base for the body, are displaced to offset theaperture inwardly of the rim of the body and to provide curved grippingjaws extending inwardly from the rim of the body toward the aperture.Conveniently, the metal-working operations may be achieved at successivestations of substantially automaticaly operated punch presses andwithout the need for manual assembly as is incident to button structuresembodying two or more separatelyfabricated parts or pieces.

The above brief description, as well as further objects,

features and advantages of the present invention will bev Fig. 1 is aplan view of a typical blank employed inl button manufacture accordingto the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the blank shown in Fig. 1 in anintermediate stage of cupping the blank;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the blank when cupped;

Fig. 4 is an elevational view with parts sectioned, showing the cuppedblank of Fig. 3 in a typical press preliminary to the further forming ofthe cup-shaped part;

Fig. 5 is a plan View of the completed button after the shaping andindenting operations achieved in the punch or press arrangement shown inFig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an elevational View of the completed button;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 7-7 ofFig. 5; and

Fig. 8 is an elevational view with parts broken away and sectioned,showing a typical assembly of a button and attachment rivet according tothe present invention.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, there is shown a typicalblank 10 for manufacturing one-piece buttons in accordance with thepresent invention. In the illustrative form of the invention, theb1ank-10 is shown as including four sides 12, 14, 16 and 18, eachsubstantially equal in length. However, as will appear hereinafter, theinvention finds application with blanks of other than substantiallysquare configuration and having either an even number or odd number ofsides.

In the first forming operation, the blank 10 is pulled or drawn into thecup-shaped configuration of Fig. 3,`

either in a one-shot operation, or by successive punch operations inwhich the blank is brought to the intermediate conliguration of Fig. 2.The requirements for the cupping of the blank will depend upon the typeof material used in fabricating the Vblank and/or the gauge of thematerial. For example, with cold rolled steel, experience indicates thatthe blank may be formed into the cup-shaped configuration of Fig. 3 in aone-punch or shot operation. By progressively inspecting Figs. l to 3inclusive, it will be appreciated that the hub or central portion of theblank is cupped ,into a substan-v at the corner24V define the convergentsides of the tri-v angular` projection 34; and, the half sections 18b,12b meeting at the corner 26 define the converging sides of 3. thetriangular projection 36. As will ybe appreciated hereinafter, thetriangular projections or parts 30, 32, 34 and 36 are, in theirelemental form of Fig. 3, the gripping jaws of the completed button,illustrated in Figs. to 8 inclusive. In this form of the invention, thefour sides of the blank 18 are divided by halves, such that therespective half sections meeting: at the corners of the button eachdefine a gripping jaw. For a five-sided blank, there will be five pairsof half sections meeting at five corners and the respective pairs ofhalf sections at the corners will define five elemental parts forgripping jaws. By extension, with a six-sided blank there will be sixelemental parts for the gripping jaws. Thus, it will be appreciated thatthe present disclosure finds broader applicationV than the use of thesimple four-sided blank of Fig. l. Preferably, the corners of the blank2li, 22, 24, 26 are chamfered, as designated generally by the referencenumeral 38 for a purpose which will subsequently become apparent.

Following the cupping operation, the tri-angular projections or parts30, 32, 34, 36 are turned inwardly toward each other until the halfsections of the respective sides by pairs are substantially coextensiveand the projections define a base 40 integral with a dome-shaped body46. Simultaneously, the projections 30, 32, 34 and 36 are indented tobring the chamfered corners 38 of the blank into a plane spaced inwardlyof the general plane of the base 40, wherein the corners define a boreor seating aperture 42 for receiving a mounting shank, stud or rivet forthe button. The projections 30, 32, 34 and 36 provide gripping jaws 48which extend from the periphery of the base 40 inwardly at a gradualcurve toward the bore 42. The depressions in the blank symmetrically ofthe bore 42 with the radially extending and converging jaws 4S are likea one-way clutching mechanism, in which the gripping jaws 48 resistwithdrawal of an attachment shank or rivet from the bore 42.

Upon inspecting Figs. 5 and 7, it will be appreciated that the halfsections of the respective sides 12a, 12b, 14a, 14h, 16a, 16b and 18a,18b define slits 44 which extend radially of the base 40. The slits 44terminate inwardly of the periphery of the base 49, such that the slitsare not visible when viewing the button from its front face or from itssides. The hidden arrangement of the slits results from the flowing andforming of the metal inwardly during the simultaneous turning andindenting operation, for example by apparatus such as illustrated inFig. 4. Conventionally, such apparatus, which is also useful for thecupping operation, includes a female die part 50, a male die part S2, afollower part 54 and a biasing spring 56. The action of the spring 56 isto keep the follower part 54 in the upward position as illustrated inFig. 4, wherein the follower part 54 and the female die part 50cooperate to define a die cavity 58 substantially complementary to I thecup-shaped blank shown in Fig. 3. The leading surfaces of the male diepart 52 are formed with appropriate `cavities 60 such that upon downwardmotion of the male die part 52 (as indicated by the directional arrow62) through a predetermined thrust, the projections are turned to thedot-dash line positions of Fig. 4, shown by the full lines in Figs. 5 to8 inclusive.

After the forming operations are completed, and starting with a blank 10of cold rolled steel, the formed buttons are passed through anappropriate heat treatment cycle to case harden at least the grippingjaws 30, 32, 34 and 36.

In Fig. 8, there is shown a typical rivet and button assembly inaccordance with the present invention as mounted on a multiple plywearing apparel assembly 70. The one-piece button is seen to include thedome-shaped body 46 having the base 40 which includes the gripping jaws48 separated by the radial slots 44 with the ends of the gripping jawsdefining and bounding the bore 42 disposed centrallyof the body 46 andin a plane offset .4 inwardly from the general plane of the base 40. Thebore 42 receives Ia hollow mounting stud or rivet 76, and when assembledas shown in Fig. 8, the jaws 48 resist withdrawal of the mounting `orattachment stud 74 from the bore or opening 42.

From the foregoing description, it will be appreciated that buttonsconstructed according to the present invention may be fabricated from asingle piece of metal in several simple and direct forming operations,and without the need of manual assembly operations. The resulting buttonis functionally the same as those fabricated of several parts, butobviously is cheaper, in some instances more durable, and usually ofbetter appearance in that the one piece construction does not haveregions which are crimped or deformed (i. e. the curled edge of a twopiece button)..

Although the invention has been illustrated starting with asubstantially square blank, it should be further appreciated that thetechniques described are equally applicable to blanks having anincreased number of sides. Numerous modifications are intended withinthe scope and spirit of the present disclosure, and accordingly theappended claims should be construed broadly; in some instances somefeatures of the invention will be used without a corresponding use ofother features. What I claim is:

l. In the manufacture of a metal button, the steps including forming ablank having four sides meeting by pairs at corners, cupping said blankto form a body having integral triangular projections, each of saidprojections being defined by converging half-sections of a pair of sidesmeeting at a corner, and turning said triangular projections inwardlyuntil the corners of said blank dene an aperture substantially centrallyof said body and simultaneously indenting said projections to displacesaid aperture into a plane offset inwardly from the rim of said body andto form curved gripping jaws surrounding said aperture.

2. The method of manufacturing a one piece metallic button from amulti-sided blank including the steps of drawing said blank intocup-shaped configuration with each side of said blank being foldedapproximately in half and defining opposite sides of substantiallytriangular projections integral with the cup-shaped part of said blank,and turning said projections inwardly and toward each other until thehalf sections of the respective sides are substantially coextensive andwith the corners of the blank defining a pin-receiving bore.

3. The method of manufacturing a one piece metallic button from amulti-sided blank of steel including the steps of drawing said blankinto a cup-shaped part with each side of said blank being foldedapproximately in half and defining opposite sides of substantiallytriangular projections integral with said cup-shaped part and extendingfrom the perimeter thereof, forming said blank to provide a dome-shapedbody and to turn said projections inwardly and toward each other untilthe half sections of the respective sides are substantially coextensiveand said projections define a base integral with said body, andsimultaneously indenting said projections to bring the corners of saidblank into a plane spaced inwardly of said base wherein said cornersdene a bore for receiving a mounting shank for said button and saidprojections provide gripping jaws converging toward said bore, and heattreating said button to harden at least said gripping jaws.

4. The method of manufacturing aone piece metallic button from amulti-sided blank including the steps of drawing said blank into acup-shaped part with each side of said blank being folded approximatelyin half and defining opposite sides of substantially triangularprojections integral Vwith said cup-shaped part and extending from theperimeter thereof, forming said blank to provide a dome-shaped body andto turn said projections inwardly and toward each other until the halfsections of the rcspective sides are substantially coextensive and saidprojections dene a base integral with said body, and simultaneouslyindenting said projections to bring the corners of said blank into aplane spaced inwardly of said base wherein said corners define a borefor receiving a mounting shank for said button and said projectionsprovide gripping jaws converging toward said bore.

5. In combination, a mounting stud adapted to be extended through asupport, and a one piece metallic button for assembly with said mountingstud comprising a domeshaped body having an integral base, said baseincluding gripping jaws having ends converging to define a boresubstantially centrally of said -body and offset inwardly from saidbase, said bore being of a size to snugly receive said mounting stud,said gripping jaws being so constructed and arranged as to provide aone-way clutching action on said mounting stud at said bore whereby saidmounting stud may be inserted within said bore to mount said button on asupport and is held by said gripping jaws against withdrawal from saidbore.

6. In combination, a circular mounting stud adapted to be extendedthrough a support, and a one piece metallic button for assembly withsaid mounting stud comprising a dome-shaped body having an integralbase, said base including gripping jaws extending radially and inwardlyof said body and having ends converging to dene a bore substantiallycentrally of said body and offset inwardly from said base, said borebeing of a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of said mountingstud, said gripping jaws being so constructed and arranged as to providea one-way clutching action on said mounting stud whereby said mountingstud may be inserted within said bore to mount said button on a supportand is held by said gripping jaws against withdrawal from said bore.

7. In combination, a mounting stud adapted to be extended through asupport, and a one piece metallic button for assembly with said mountingstud and comprising a dome-shaped body having an integral base, saidbase including heat hardened gripping jaws having ends converging todefine a bore substantially centrally of Vsaid body and offset inwardlyfrom said base, said bore being of a size to conformably receive saidmounting stud, said gripping jaws being curved inwardly and arranged toprovide a one-way clutch said one-way clutch being arranged to allowsaid mounting stud to be inserted within said bore to mount said buttonon a support and to preclude withdrawal of said mounting stud from saidbore.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS313,017 Noyes Feb. 24, 1885 1,048,776 Williams Dec. 3l, 1912 1,257,731Nuberth Feb. 26, 1918 1,870,051 Johnson Aug. 2, 1932 2,267,667 PurintonDec. 23, 1941 2,288,710 Hotchkin July 7, 1942 2,339,664 Tinnerman Jan.18, 1944 2,754,717 Becker July 17, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 27,830 AustriaMar. ll, 1907 570,916 Great Britain July 27, 1945

